


Cuts, Bandages and a Life Worth Living

by BebbanburgBeats



Category: The Last Kingdom (TV), The Warrior Chronicles | The Saxon Stories - Bernard Cornwell
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:14:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29249361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BebbanburgBeats/pseuds/BebbanburgBeats
Summary: Written for a prompt: Osferth/Reader Imagine with the reader being a girl saved from some danes and Osferth takes care of her
Relationships: Osferth (c. 885-934)/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Cuts, Bandages and a Life Worth Living

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy!

A group of warriors had came out of nowhere and attacked the Danes that had been holding your village hostage. The Danes had arrived the day before and, being a small village on the border between Wessex and Mercia, there had been nobody to protect the cluster of houses from Danish marauders. So when a rag-tag group of men had suddenly appeared and started attacking the Danes, taking them by surprise, there was a lot of shouting and confusion. In the chaos that ensued, nobody had noticed as you slipped away and hid. You had hidden in the nearest storehouse when the attack had started. Sometime during your escape, you had fallen and cut your leg.

But now, it seemed the fighting was over. Or at least, it had grown quiet outside. Every now and then the sound of voices punctuated the air, but you were still too scared to move just yet. Unsure who had won you waited until nightfall, all while your leg was throbbing in pain.

Just as you were plucking up the courage to peek outside, voices just outside the door to the storehouse had you rushing back in to hiding deep in the shadows behind the sacks of grain, wincing in pain.

“Uhtred told us to get more ale, Osferth. There must be some around here somewhere.” An Irish voice said, slurring slightly.

“I think you’ve all had enough to be honest.” Came the softly spoken reply. You supposed that must have been the one called Osferth. With curiosity you noticed they were not speaking the language of the Danes. Nevertheless, you stayed hidden because you didn’t know who these men were or what intentions they had.

“Nonsense, you can never have enough ale.” The sound of the door opening sent a fresh wave of terror through you and a jolt of pain through your injured leg.

_Please don’t see me, please don’t see me, please don’t see me_. You prayed. Although it was more of a terrified mantra by that point.

The Irish one was muttering under his breath as he looked around the storehouse, coming close to where you were hiding. You held your breath, not daring to make a sound lest you be discovered.

“There’s no ale here, Finan”, the soft voiced Osferth said. “Let’s go back to the others.” Hearing footsteps retreating you let out a breath and brought your hand up to the cross necklace you wore around your neck. Too late you realised your mistake: your clothes had rustled as you unwittingly touched a sack of grain.

“What was that?” The Irish voice asked, presumably belonging to the man called Finan.

“What was what?”

“I heard a noise. A rustle.”

“I’m sure it is nothing, Finan.”

You heard the sound of a sword being drawn, a sound that made your blood freeze and panic rise in your throat as you made an involuntary noise.

The grain sacks you were hiding behind were suddenly yanked away, leaving you out in the open. You scrambled backwards until your back hit the wall, where you stayed cowered with your hands in front of your face.

The Irishman, Finan, held his sword pointed towards you and taking you in, assessing if you were a threat.

“P-please, my lord. D-don’t hurt me. I live in this village.” You stammered out, peeking through your fingers. Taking in both men, they looked Saxon with their crosses. A slight relief. “I am Saxon.”

Their eyes widening in surprise to find a woman, the sword was sheathed immediately.

“I am sorry, my lady. We did not know anyone was in here. We won’t hurt you.” The one called Osferth rushed forward to your side. Offering his hand, he asked gently “Are you hurt, Lady?” He seemed like the kind, caring type and you liked him immediately. His eyes scanned over you, seeing for himself, stopping when he saw the cut on your leg. It was a deep cut to your thigh.

Helping you to stand, he introduced himself as Osferth, and the Irishman as Finan. At least you could put faces to names now. “I am Y/N.” You replied wearily and pained. Their names did sound somewhat familiar to you though, as you wracked your brains as to why.

“It is lovely to meet you, Lady Y/N.” Osferth replied formally. “We were just heading back to our Lord, the Lord Uhtred. With your permission, I would like for someone to look at your leg. It looks like a nasty cut.”

Eyes widening, you remembered how you knew their names. Word had spread even this far into Wessex of the good things Lord Uhtred had done, especially with the rescue of the Lady Aethelflaed.

“You are Lord Uhtred’s men?” You enquired with some awe.

“Indeed we are, Lady.” Finan said proudly. “Osferth is correct, we were about to return to our friends. Please join us. We have bandages. And food.” Finan started walking outside.

“Wait!” Finan turned with raised eyebrows at you. “I know where you can get more ale.”

Finan smiled. “We are much obliged to you for the offer, Lady. But I think your leg is more important than some ale right now.”

Osferth voiced his agreement and followed Finan, an arm slung around you to help take some of the weight off your injury. You were grateful for the help, the pain increasing with every step.

Finan lead the way back towards a group of men and a woman, you and Osferth in tow. A little further away you saw the villagers clustered together. Not many villagers had survived the attack you noticed. Even though you had not been close to anyone in your village, not since you had moved here only a few months ago and been treated as a bit of an outsider, you were sad to see how few of them there were. Only a few of them bothered to give you a nod of acknowledgement, the rest ignored you in favour of their close community.

Seeing their reaction to you, Osferth reassured you as he turned you towards his friends instead. “Don’t worry, my friends are all good people. I can vouch for every one of them.”

“Ah, Finan! Do you return with more ale?” A voice asked.

“Unfortunately not, Uhtred.” Finan answered. “We have no more ale at the moment, but we found someone.” He turned and gestured to you. “This is Y/N. We found her in a storehouse. She needs a bandage to her leg.”

Introductions were made to Uhtred, Sihtric and young Uhtred.

A lady with red hair came over and grasped your hands warmly. “I am Eadith. It is lovely to meet you, Y/N. May I have a look at your leg? You look quite pale.” She added concernedly.

You nodded your answer, feeling light headed from the pain of walking here.

“Osferth, would you help Y/N over here, please?” Eadith asked, acting quickly.

Osferth helped you over to where Eadith gestured, hidden from the view of everyone else by trees. Eadith wanted to give you some privacy, especially as the cut was to your thigh.

As Osferth turned to leave, Eadith stopped him. “I might need your help, Osferth. The cut is quite deep. She is barely awake, likely from the pain of walking on it.”

Osferth turned red at the impropriety of the situation, but seeing the pleading look in Eadith’s eyes he stayed to help. His breath left him in a whoosh as he saw the injury properly for the first time. It was a long gash to your thigh that would definitely leave a scar.

Eadith cleaned and dressed the wound as gently as she could but you still whimpered at the pain. Osferth helped as much as he could, he stayed and tried to distract you as much as possible.

When Eadith was finished she ushered Osferth aside, leaving you to sit where you were. “We will have to change the dressing on the wound often to keep it clean.” Osferth nodded his understanding. Astute as always, he also picked up on the look Eadith shot between you and the other residents of the village.

“What’s wrong, Eadith?” Osferth asked.

“They haven’t spoken to her since you and Finan found her and brought her here. I’m worried about what will happen when we leave here tomorrow.” Eadith worried her lip between her teeth. “She is still in a lot of pain and exertion might open the wound again. You saw how deep it was.”

Nodding in contemplative agreement, neither Osferth or Eadith heard the slight rustle of foliage coming their way. “You leave tomorrow?” You asked, taking both by surprise.

“You shouldn’t be walking on that leg yet, Y/N. It needs rest to heal.” Eadith said as she went over to where you stood to help you back to the camp. Y/N looked like she would protest until Osferth answered her question.

“Yes, we leave tomorrow. We were on our way back from Mercia to Coccham when we saw the Danes.”

Looking him in the eyes, you said, “I’ll be sad to see you go. You have all done a great thing today helping us. You did not have to fight the Danes for us.”

Osferth smiled a shy smile. “Uhtred is never one to pass up a fight. He is also not one to leave people to suffer at the hands of Danes such as those.”

“Thank you. I am grateful to you all nevertheless and whatever your reasons. You are courageous, just and kind men.” You offered your own shy smile in response to his earnest speech.

Osferth offered a small, formal bow at your words and you smiled again, turning and letting Eadith lead you towards the fire. Your stomach grumbled hungrily and you realised with a jolt that you hadn’t eaten since the morning, over 12 hours ago. Eadith smiled and went to get you some food, filling a plate for you and bringing a cup of ale to wash it down with. Evidently more ale had been sourced in your absence. Uhtred, Finan and Sihtric murmured greetings and continued their conversation, drawing you in as well and asking you questions.

Osferth leaned against a tree and watched the exchange with a smile. It almost looked like you had been part of the group for ages, not just having met his friends only an hour ago. What did trouble him though was what Eadith had said about leaving tomorrow. Who would change your bandages? Who would make sure you were ok? Nobody in the village seemed inclined to help you, still seeing you as some sort of outsider, however ludicrous that was to him.

He started to wonder if you were truly happy living here, in this village. You had made a living here, but there was something about you that seemed free-spirited and that didn’t belong here somehow. Perhaps that was the reason everyone else here didn’t want much to do with you. He thought it best not to dwell on your business, seeing as he would be leaving tomorrow with his friends to continue their journey. He still couldn’t shake the thought of you here, seemingly alone though. It didn’t sit right with him.

“Osferth?!” The sound of his name from your lips caught his attention and he walked over to join the rest of the group finally, eyebrows raised in question thinking you had summoned him.

“Y/N?” He asked when you didn’t speak immediately what was on your mind and why you had called him over. Then he saw your shoulders shaking and panicked slightly, only to see moments later that it was from laughter and not from pain. Someone must have told you a funny story about him. Well, funny or embarrassing story at least. It was odd how all the “funny” stories his friends told about him were also usually embarrassing for him as well. He took a seat beside you, at a respectable distance of course, and the hour became later.

Eventually you addressed him again. “Is it true?” You asked.

“Is what true?” He replied softly.

“That you were going to be a monk?”

His ears started turning a shade of red. “It is true that I was going to be a monk when I was younger yes.” He glanced in the direction of Uhtred, Finan and Sihtric. It would only have been one of those three that told you his former intentions.

You saw the troubled look on his face. “I’m sorry, Osferth. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” You said quietly, apologising for having upset him.

“You didn’t, Y/N... they, however, did. They made fun of me wanting to be a monk.” He shot them another look over the campfire.

“You know, wanting to be a monk isn’t a bad thing. Many great men are monks.” You informed him.

“I have different plans for my future now.” He replied to your statement, without elaborating further.

You sat at the fire with everyone for a few minutes longer, but having eaten and the pain in your leg dulling from the ale you consumed, you decided to go home and get some sleep. Announcing your intentions, you tried to walk a few paces before the pain started coming back but you were determined to make it home so you gritted your teeth. Eadith watched you struggle to walk and was about to offer her help when Osferth was already by your side.

A steady hand was rested on your arm and you jumped at the contact, not expecting anyone to be standing next to you, helping you.

“How about I help you?” Osferth asked, kindness in his eyes and other hand extended should you wish to take up his offer of help.

Pausing to consider, you muttered a thank you when you accepted his hand a heartbeat later.

Neither of you noticed the looks between everyone else at how attentive Osferth was being. Although it was in his nature to be kind and caring they supposed, so nothing was said on the matter.

You let Osferth lead you down the main street of the village, until he stopped and asked where your house was. Forgetting that he didn’t know, you smiled shyly and gave him directions the rest of the way. It really did feel like you had known him a lot longer than one evening, that was how comfortable you felt around each other already even after such a short time.

When you arrived at your door, you were fully prepared for him to leave you there and return to his friends. But when he opened your door and guided you in to sit on your bed, you felt shy again. Not many men came into your house, and certainly not without other company present as well. However, you found that you didn’t mind Osferth being in your house, and indeed in your bedroom. Usually you had a feeling of unease around most people you had ever met if you were being honest, but you didn’t get that vibe from Osferth. He gave off a feeling of security in your opinion.

“Can I get you anything, Y/N?” Osferth asked, concern clouding his features at your winces of pain. “Water, ale, food, blankets...?”

“No thank you. I think I should just rest.”

When he turned to leave your hand shot out unwittingly. Pausing, you both looked down at where your skin touched.

“S-sorry...” you giggled nervously, averting your eyes and removing your hand. “I was wondering if you would maybe just sit for a while? After everything that has happened the last few days... I don’t feel safe here by myself.” He nodded his understanding and pulled up a chair to sit with you.

You talked for a while about random things again, the conversation flowing easily. Soon it turned to what you do to make a living in this village.

“So what is it you do here?”

“I do a lot of odd jobs here and there. Sewing, baking, farming. Things like that. Small things for other people and enough to get by. It is comfortable enough.”

“What did you do before you came here?” He asked.

An uncertain look came over her face when he asked that. She chewed her lip as if thinking whether or not to answer. After a long pause she took a deep breath. “It wasn’t always... like this. My family and I had money but things happened and we were left with nothing. Soon after that my parents and sister died and I came here. It was far enough away from where I used to live for my past not to haunt me so much.”

Osferth saw the pain and ghost of past memories in your eyes and felt the urge to reach out and take your hand as a show of solidarity that he understood.

“I understand what it is to have no family.” He murmured, staring into the fire. “I was born and, well, let’s just say that my father could not have me around.”

“Why could your father not have you around?” you asked.

“It was improper for a man of his station to openly have a bastard son, so I was shipped off to a monastery to grow up. That was why I was to become a monk, until I decided to make something more of my life and travel with the Lord Uhtred. My point is that things are sent to try us, but we must endure them to start new chapters of our lives.”

“You may be a bastard, but I see no reason for anyone to be ashamed of the man you have become. You are kind, caring, and willing to help anyone. I see nothing bad about that.” You said, a little confusedly.

Osferth chuckled quietly. “If only you knew who my father is, Y/N.”

“Should I know who your father is, Osferth?”

“I am the bastard son of King Alfred.”

Your eyes widened in shock at the admission. “Wow, that’s quite something. I never thought I would meet royalty.” You joked.

“I am not royalty, Y/N. Merely related to a king by birth.”

“Even less of a reason to be ashamed of you though. Your qualities are those of a true king.” You said, reaching for his hand again and giving it a squeeze of reassurance. You had both shared family secrets with each other, and both of you felt like you had bonded over it. You smiled at each other in understanding.

“May I ask you something, Y/N?”

“Of course you can. You don’t need to ask every time you want to ask me a question, polite as you are trying to be. I would like to think of you as a friend if that isn’t too forward?”

“Of course it isn’t, I would like to consider you a friend as well. But my question is: why do you stay here? I have seen the way the other villagers look at you. They don’t accept you, they don’t appreciate you and it doesn’t look like you truly belong here, Y/N. You are not seen here, you have much more potential than they give you credit for. I know the last few days have been difficult for you all, but none of them came to help you earlier.”

You sighed. Osferth really was too astute. He had noticed so much in the last few hours about you. “In truth, I don’t know why I stay here. It is convenient I suppose, and I have money enough to get by here. But you are right, I don’t belong here, not really. But then again, where do I belong? I’m not sure there is anywhere I can settle without being the outsider, the woman by herself. People ask about my past, what happened to make me who I am. But no, I am not happy here to be perfectly honest.”

He nodded in thought for a moment, psyching himself up to say what he wanted to. “Why... why don’t you come with us? We travel quite a bit, but we are on our way home to a place called Coccham. It is the Lord Uhtred’s and there are enough houses there for you to have one. There are people from many backgrounds there, and you would not be the outsider. Coccham is a collection of many people who have nowhere they belong, but are welcomed to stay. It is a rag-tag group of people, but they are all good. Even I found a home there.” He said excitedly. He calmed himself and added shyly, “it would also be nice to see you around.”

Your heart swelled at the thought of Osferth of thinking of you. Everything you had said was true, you were not happy living here at the moment, you didn’t feel like you belonged and you didn’t really know anyone. You loved the thought of being around people who wouldn’t judge you, and who would accept you without caring about your past. And seeing Osferth more would be an added bonus.

“I think I would like that. Very much.” You grinned, his answering grin said it all. “But would Uhtred mind me tagging along with you all. Besides, I don’t have a horse and I can’t walk at the moment.” You said sadly.

“Nonsense, Uhtred will be fine with it. I will talk to him. And you can share my horse. Don't worry, we will work it all out.”

So it seemed to be settled. In the morning, Osferth came to find you. He had spoken to Uhtred and everything was sorted. Osferth helped you up onto his horse before climbing up behind you and taking the reigns. In any other situation you would have been blushing profusely at the closeness of him, but somehow you couldn’t find it in yourself to mind. The future was looking brighter for you and you finally felt like you could escape the ghosts of your past in an entirely new place, with new friends and better prospects. You left your former home with your head held high and without a backwards glance to start a new chapter of your life. 

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted to my tumblr for-bebbanburg


End file.
